Since its inception in 2007, Bridgeport Hospital initiaited a Stroke Alert process which has enabled our hospital to evaluate and treat patients who have suffered a stroke expeditiously in order to reduce brain injury. A primary task of the evaluation is to determine if a stroke patient is eligible to receive tPA, a medication that dissolves blood clots in the vascular system of the brain. Early dissolution of a stroke—causing blood clot, has been shown to improve neurologic recovery.